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TGIF! larry we made it!
Obama bid to suspend Gitmo proceedings hits snag
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – President Barack Obama's plan to suspend proceedings against Guantanamo detainees hit a snag when a military judge said it would be unreasonable to delay a hearing for the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing.
Thursday's ruling by the judge, Army Col. James Pohl, creates an unexpected challenge for the new administration as it reviews how America puts suspected terrorists on trial.
Pohl said his decision was difficult but necessary to protect "the public interest in a speedy trial." The ruling came in the case against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The bombing of the Navy destroyer in 2000 in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, killed 17 U.S. sailors.
Obama has ordered the detention center in Cuba to be closed within a year. The administration asked last week for a 120-day suspension in proceedings against some 20 detainees as it considers whether to continue trying alleged terrorists in the military commissions, revamp them or try suspects in other courts.
Obama signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ensure that "all proceedings of such military commissions to which charges have been referred but in which no judgment has been rendered ... are halted."
But Pohl wrote in his ruling that "on its face, the request to delay the arraignment is not reasonable."
The judge's decision seemed to take the Pentagon and White House by surprise.
"We are consulting with the Pentagon and the Department of Justice to explore our options in the case," said White Press secretary Robert Gibbs, adding that he doubted the decision would hamper the administration's ability to decide how to move forward from Guantanamo.
The Department of Defense is reviewing Judge Pohl's ruling, said Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman.
Geoff Morrell, another Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that there were "no ifs, ands or buts" about adhering to the president's executive order and that there would "be no proceedings continuing down at Gitmo with military commissions."
"The bottom line is, we all work for the president of the United States in this chain of command, and he has signed an executive order which has made abundantly clear that until these reviews are done all of this is on hiatus," Morrell said.
The American Civil Liberties Union urged Gates to put a halt to the proceedings by withdrawing the charges against al-Nashiri.
"Judge Pohl's decision to move forward despite a clear statement from the president also raises questions about Secretary of Defense Gates — is he the 'new Gates' or is he the same old Gates under a new president?" ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said. "Secretary Gates has the power to stop the military commissions and ought to follow his new boss' directives."
The Cole's former commanding officer, retired Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, said the case "needs to go forward" at Guantanamo. He said Pohl's ruling validated the war-crimes trials by demonstrating the independence of the military judges.
"The families involved want to see al-Nashiri held accountable for his heinous acts," Lippold said in an interview.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes, the Pentagon-appointed attorney for al-Nashiri, said the decision gives the Obama administration few options.
"The next step, if the government wants to halt the proceedings, is to withdraw the charges," Reyes said.
"Now it's in the government's hands," he said. "I have no idea what they're going to do."
Pohl is the chief judge at the tribunals at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At least two other judges have already granted the continuance sought by the president, with the defense and prosecution agreeing in both cases that they should be suspended.
Pohl noted that no substantive legal issues would be litigated at al-Nashiri's arraignment, scheduled for Feb. 9, meaning that "nothing will be mooted or necessary for relitigation" if Obama scraps the tribunals.
The war crimes court came to an abrupt halt Jan. 21 after two other military judges granted Obama's request for a suspension. His executive order came the following day in Washington.
Those cases were against a Canadian accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan and five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks.
In all, war crimes charges are pending against 21 men at Guantanamo. Before Obama became president, the U.S. said it planned to try dozens of detainees in a system that was created by George W. Bush and Congress in 2006 and has faced repeated challenges.
morning kitties!
Obama slams Wall Street for rich executive bonuses
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, who has ordered a pay freeze on six-figure White House aides, wants to talk to Wall Street executives about a report indicating payments of over $18 billion in bonuses as the economy was in virtual free fall.
"It is shameful," Obama said from the Oval Office Thursday. "And part of what we're going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint, and show some discipline, and show some sense of responsibility."
The president's comments, made with new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at his side, came in swift response to a New York state comptroller's report saying that employees of the New York financial world garnered an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year.
Obama's harsh criticism of Wall Street came just one day after he brought several well-paid chief executives to the White House and praised them for being on the "front lines in seeing the enormous problems in our economy right now."
By sunset Thursday, he was serving notice that both he and Geithner will speak directly to Wall Street leaders about government bailouts, extravagant executive perks and a public revulsion over a perceived me-first attitude in executive suites.
The corporate leaders who appeared with Obama Wednesday are not from the Wall Street financial companies that the president targeted, but rather are the heads of such well-known manufacturing and technology giants as IBM, Motorola, Xerox and Corning. Still, they get paid handsomely.
Most of those who stood with Obama earned a total 2007 compensation package of between $8 million and $21 million, according to a review by The Associated Press. Those calculations include the executives' salary, bonus pay, incentives, perks, the estimated value of stock holdings and other compensation.
Obama called the payment of the Wall Street bonuses "the height of irresponsibility," and said the public dislikes the idea of helping the financial sector dig out of a hole, only to see it get bigger because of lavish spending. The comptroller's report found such bonuses were down 44 percent, but at about the same level they were during the boom time of 2004.
Vice President Joe Biden spoke even more bluntly.
"I'd like to throw these guys in the brig," Biden said in an interview with CNBC.
Wall Street appears headed for lower opening
NEW YORK – Wall Street pointed toward a moderately lower open Friday, as investors awaited a reading on just how weak the economy was during the fourth quarter.
The Commerce Department is expected to report Friday that the gross domestic product, the widely followed measure of the economy, shrank at an annual pace of 5.4 percent in the October-December period, a much faster descent than the 0.5 percent decline logged in the previous quarter. If economists' forecasts are correct, it would mark the weakest showing since the first quarter of 1982.
Investors are largely prepared for such a staggering number, believing the fourth quarter will likely be the worst period for the recession, now in its second year. But if the results are weaker, the market could fall further.
Meanwhile, there were more mixed earnings reports.
Consumer-products company Procter & Gamble Co. said its fourth-quarter quarter profit jumped 53 percent, boosted by a gain from the sale of its Folgers coffee business. But its sales dipped 3 percent on weakening demand for its products, which include Tide detergent, Olay skin cream and Crest toothpaste.
Also Friday, Honda Motor Co. slashed its 2009 profit target by more than half as its earnings dropped 90 percent in the latest quarter, hit by rising costs and falling sales in key markets.
Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 66, or 0.81 percent, to 8,046. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 8.50, or 1.01 percent, to 834.30, and Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 10.50, or 0.87 percent, to 1,195.50.
A bit of good news came from Amazon.com Inc. late Thursday, which reported that its fourth-quarter profit rose 9 percent and easily surpassed analysts' forecasts. The online retailer also provided an optimistic forecast for 2009.
But there were also more layoffs. Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. said it will cut 20,000 jobs worldwide as it reported a $1.46 billion loss for the fourth quarter.
Companies across a variety of industries have been slashing their payrolls by the thousands. Starbucks Corp., Eastman Kodak and Allstate Corp. also announced big job cuts this week.
Volatility has remained high this week, with the market zigzagging on a mix of earnings and economic news as investors try to gain any insight on what the rest of 2009 will bring. Unrelenting concerns about the banking industry have also added to the uncertainty on Wall Street.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average sank 226 points, while other indicators tumbled more than 3 percent, on news that unemployment claims reached a record high and that new home sales hit a record low. This erased all of the gains from the previous day, when stocks soared on hopes that the government will take bad debt off banks' books.
Bond prices rose early Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 2.83 percent from 2.87 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, fell to 0.21 percent from 0.23 percent late Thursday.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude fell 25 cents to $41.19 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3.12 percent. In early afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.92 percent, Germany's DAX index was down 1.80 percent, and France's CAC-40 was down 1.92 percent.
___
Gold squad charge six men over mines theft
January 30, 2009 - 1:40PM
Gold squad detectives have charged six men over the theft of safety equipment at mines in the West Australian goldfields.
The Gold Stealing Detection Unit said in two separate thefts, parts were stolen from rescue vehicles, while emergency equipment used to pull workers out of mines was taken from another mine site.
The vehicle parts were stolen from KCGM's Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie while the rescue equipment was taken from Barrick Gold's Darlot mine, north of Kalgoorlie, police said.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Gorman said both thefts had compromised mine safety, especially in the case of tools used to rescue and extract miners in emergency situations.
If convicted, the mine employees would never work in the gold mining industry again, Det Gorman said.
Appearing in court yesterday charged with stealing vehicle parts were KCGM workers Jamie Laurence Wolfe, 33 and Anthony Longfield, 32, while contractor Mark Kenneth Thomas, 44, was charged with making a false statement.
Longfield pleaded guilty and was released on a good behaviour bond while Wolfe and Thomas are expected to stand trial in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court in June.
Following the unrelated incident at Barrick Gold's Darlot mine, north of Kalgoorlie, Perth men Paolino Gangemi, 38, and William McLachlan, 43, were charged with stealing and remanded to appear in court later this year.
A 39-year-old Albany man is yet to appear in court on the same charge.
Det Gorman said the charges in all cases were especially serious because of the stolen equipment's importance in emergency situations.
``The thing with this is the loss of this equipment has an impact on mine safety,'' he said.
``There are serious consequences mine employees can expect to face should they be tempted to engage in unlawful activity which will ultimately compromise their employment and livelihood,'' he said.
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! my favorite day! whats new today!
Gold squad charge six men over mines theft
January 30, 2009 - 1:40PM
Gold squad detectives have charged six men over the theft of safety equipment at mines in the West Australian goldfields.
The Gold Stealing Detection Unit said in two separate thefts, parts were stolen from rescue vehicles, while emergency equipment used to pull workers out of mines was taken from another mine site.
The vehicle parts were stolen from KCGM's Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie while the rescue equipment was taken from Barrick Gold's Darlot mine, north of Kalgoorlie, police said.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Brad Gorman said both thefts had compromised mine safety, especially in the case of tools used to rescue and extract miners in emergency situations.
If convicted, the mine employees would never work in the gold mining industry again, Det Gorman said.
Appearing in court yesterday charged with stealing vehicle parts were KCGM workers Jamie Laurence Wolfe, 33 and Anthony Longfield, 32, while contractor Mark Kenneth Thomas, 44, was charged with making a false statement.
Longfield pleaded guilty and was released on a good behaviour bond while Wolfe and Thomas are expected to stand trial in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court in June.
Following the unrelated incident at Barrick Gold's Darlot mine, north of Kalgoorlie, Perth men Paolino Gangemi, 38, and William McLachlan, 43, were charged with stealing and remanded to appear in court later this year.
A 39-year-old Albany man is yet to appear in court on the same charge.
Det Gorman said the charges in all cases were especially serious because of the stolen equipment's importance in emergency situations.
``The thing with this is the loss of this equipment has an impact on mine safety,'' he said.
``There are serious consequences mine employees can expect to face should they be tempted to engage in unlawful activity which will ultimately compromise their employment and livelihood,'' he said.
rise and shine birdies!
Time to Dive into Gold
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/time-to-dive-into-gold.htm
morning doog!
Time to Dive into Gold
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090129/time-to-dive-into-gold.htm
TGIF GAS peeps!
TGIF loungers! rise and shine!
TGIF street trader!
morning breakout traders! TGIF
OPEC will weigh further production cuts
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:17 a.m. EST Jan. 29, 2009Comments: 96DAVOS, Switzerland (MarketWatch) -- OPEC is ready to make further cuts in oil production in coming months if prices and global demand don't stabilize, the oil cartel's secretary general said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting on Thursday.
It will be clear in coming weeks whether cuts totalling 4.2 million barrels a day instituted in recent months are being met by OPEC members, said Abdalla Salem El Badri, in a panel discussion on the energy outlook for the year ahead.
Preliminary indications are that compliance will be near 100%, he said.
Next, oil producing nations must see how the market reacts to the previous cuts, El Badri said. OPEC "will not hesitate to take (some more) out of the market" if needed, he said.
The next meeting of oil-producing nations is March15.
At last year's meeting of corporate elite, top politicians, regulators, economists and others in Davos, oil prices were still on the rise. At the time, some prognosticators warned oil could hit $200 a barrel by the end of the year, despite signs the world economy was beginning to slow.
After peaking above $140 in July, oil prices plunged in subsequent months, hitting a low below $40 a barrel. Oil futures were trading around $41.81 in recent electronic trade.
El Badri said it was unclear whether oil prices have bottomed, but warned that a price of $40 "or even $50" a barrel doesn't provide producing countries with enough revenues to ensure adequate investment.
The price decline has been driven solely by a massive round of "demand destruction" as the world economy slowed, El Badri said, and the outlook for demand remains unclear.
"We are seeing that 2009 will be a very difficult year," he said. Meanwhile, governments around the world are implementing a range of bailouts and stimulus packages that may provide support for oil and other commodity prices, El Badri said.
Noting cuts in global economic growth projections, BP (UK:BP: news , chart , profile ) Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who was also on the panel, said demand could continue to decline "because economic growth in most of the world has stopped."
But when demand returns, it will snap back very fast and could cause suppliers to run into supply constraints "unless we can invest through the downturn," Hayward said.
Hayward estimated that an oil price of between $60 to $80 a barrel was needed to ensure adequate investment to meet growing oil demand by OPEC countries and also to meet costs of producing the marginal 3 million to 5 million barrels a day of world supply from sources such as ultra-deep wells and the oil sands of Canada.
That price range appears to support adequate investment without crimping consumer demand, he said.
William L. Watts is a reporter for MarketWatch in London.
rise and shine breakout board!
morning getthapaper!
11 more? such a coffee addict ei!
both are on the move today! got to love it
THRA smoking today
THRA is on fire today
BWNR early morning moves! TNRI volumes flowing at over 51M
BWNR moving up again this early morning at .014
morning ron! anything hot today?
here you go...
Gold falls 1 percent as firmer dollar dents demand
3 hours 27 mins ago
Gold prices slipped another 1 percent on Thursday, extending the losses of the two previous sessions, as the firmer dollar curbed buying of the precious metal as a currency hedge. Skip related content
Waning interest in bullion as a haven from risk and a resurgence of demand worries after a new fall in Indian gold imports are also weighing on prices, dealers said.
Spot gold slid to $878.10/880.10 an ounce at 10:21 a.m. from $885.60 in New York late on Wednesday. The precious metal has fallen 4 percent this week from the more than three-month high of $915.30 it hit on Monday.
"After a pretty impressive run last week we saw profit taking when gold failed to break through $920 an ounce," Commerzbank senior trader Michael Kempinski said.
"After the rally in stock markets, people are thinking twice about taking in more gold at these higher levels," he added.
Gold is also re-establishing its relationship with the dollar and oil after dissociating from its two main external drivers last week as risk aversion came to the fore, he said.
Asian stocks and the dollar climbed overnight as investors took heart from U.S. Congress' headway on a $825 billion stimulus package.
U.S. President Barack Obama's plan cleared its first Congressional hurdle, passing through the House of Representatives, as the Federal Reserve eyed more extreme measures to ease credit market strains.
While European stocks slipped in early trade as falling commodity prices dragged down miners, they have enjoyed a three-day winning streak this week.
"The recent rise in risk aversion has triggered strong inflows into the gold ETFs and a simultaneous increase in demand for gold coins and small investment bars," UBS analyst John Reade said in a note.
"To that end, the recent rally in banking shares and other evidence of relief in some markets for risk assets has seen gold drift a little off its recent highs."
IMPORTS PLUNGE
Weakness in gold demand from traditional centres of jewellery buying such as India, the Middle East and China is worrying traders, analysts said.
India's gold imports plunged by more than 90 percent to 1.2 tonnes in January, the Bombay Bullion Association said on Thursday, due to high prices and ample stocks.
Indian buyers are waiting for lower prices before investing in gold, traders said.
"There are no phone calls or... customers at retail shops," said Daman Prakash, director of gold importer MNC Bullion in Chennai. Indian scrap sales have also picked up.
Demand for gold has been buoyed by investment in bullion-backed products such as exchange-traded funds.
The world's largest gold ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, saw strong inflows last week that took it to record levels, but its holdings have been steady for the last three sessions.
On the supply side, the world's number four gold miner, Gold Fields , said its output in the three months to December rose four percent from the previous quarter, and predicted a further 14 percent rise in the quarter to March.
Interest in gold as a safe haven is still expected to boost investment demand this year, keeping prices steady in the face of a global downturn that is expected to pressure other commodities.
Among other precious metals, silver slipped to $11.73/11.79 an ounce from $11.95.
Demand for silver ETFs has also been strong, with holdings of the largest, New York's iShares Silver Trust , up 10 percent or 660 tonnes since Jan 1.
Platinum eased to $951/959 an ounce from $953.50 and palladium was at $188.50/192.50 an ounce from $188.
(Editing by Sue Thomas)
BWNR news out yesterday was up by 8 points!
morning fun seekers!
good day speedtrader! hope all is well with you. cant wait for friday!
Starbucks serves a slug of sobriety
Commentary: Another 7,000 baristas hit the street
By MarketWatch
Last update: 5:55 p.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009Comments: 14SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Starbucks built an empire on pricy coffee. Along the way, it fueled a nation's excesses. Now, Starbucks is showing us the error of our ways and leading by example.
After landing another lousy quarterly report card, the coffee vendor is cinching up its belt. Again. Another 300 shops have to go. Another 7,000 employees will go with them.
The bottom line massage from resurrected CEO Howard Shultz is that Starbucks (SBUX:Starbucks Corp
SBUX 9.65, +0.50, +5.5%) has grown too big for its own good and needs to slim operations to match an increasingly tightfisted public. See Starbucks' fourth-quarter results.
The message is bone simple and hardly surprising. Most of us knew way back when we splurged on that first cup of Starbucks coffee that we were embracing a little luxury. We wanted to be seen strolling around with that little mermaid in hand, oozing confidence in ourselves, the economy and a sense that we somehow deserved it.
An entire generation has since passed into adulthood slurping frappuccinos as if it were some kind of birthright.
Meanwhile, those of us who still associate good coffee with Mrs. Olsen or Juan Valdez and his trusty burro knew all along that Starbucks was building Rome. Fun as it was, it felt vaguely decadent. We could see the writing on the wall the moment the credit crisis struck, making downsizing inevitable on all levels.
Investors knew it too, which probably accounts for the 5% spike in Starbucks' share price ahead of today's news. They understood the company still had a way to go to bring its ambitions back within the realm of economic reality. That, too, was inevitable.
The whole country is learning this lesson. And maybe having a little less caffeine coursing through our veins is a good thing, giving us a few calm moments to contemplate the next jolt to our system -- what we're going to do with the $825 billion stimulus package now taking shape in Washington.
-- Jim Jelter
hello bob! TNRI and BWNR did great yesterday as well as CBAI and DNAG!
Oil futures fall after more grim economic data
By Polya Lesova
Last update: 8:34 a.m. EST Jan. 29, 2009Comments: 1
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures extended their decline Thursday after data showed a record number of continuing jobless claims as well as a decline in orders for U.S.-made durable goods. Crude for March delivery fell $1.15, or 2.8%, to $40.97 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. On Wednesday, oil futures ended up 1.4%.
Gold falls for second day as dollar strengthens
By Moming Zhou, MarketWatch
Last update: 3:32 p.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009Comments: 240NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures fell Wednesday, retreating further from the $900-an-ounce mark as the U.S. dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve said it's prepared to purchase long-term Treasury securities.
Separately, Germany, the world's second-largest holder of gold after the U.S., on Wednesday denied rumors that it is selling gold from its vaults to make up for its big deficit.
Gold for February delivery was last down $3.80, or 0.4%, to $884.40 an ounce in late North America electronic trading. It earlier ended floor trading down $11.30, or 1.3%, at $888.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold's floor trading closed before the Fed's announcement.
The benchmark contract had topped $900 on Monday, ending at the highest level in four months. It has fallen about $20 since then.
At the conclusion of a two-day meeting Wednesday afternoon, the Fed said it's ready to purchase longer term Treasury securities if needed to improve conditions in private credit markets.
The Federal Open Market Committee kept its interest rate target in a range of zero to 0.25%, as expected. It said it would continue to flood the financial system with money.
In the statement, the Fed admitted that the economy was in worse shape than in its prior meeting in December. But a "gradual recovery...will begin later this year," the statement said.
The central bank stressed that deflation was the biggest concern. See The Fed.
In foreign-exchange dealings Wednesday, the dollar erased earlier losses and rallied. The dollar index (DXY:US Dollar Index Future - Spot Price DXY 84.62, -0.06, -0.1%) rose more than 1% after the Fed announcement. See Currencies.
A stronger dollar reduces gold's appeal as an alternative investment.
In other economic news, the House of Representatives later Wednesday is widely expected to approve President Barack Obama's proposed $825 billion plan aimed at boosting the economy through a combination of tax cuts and government spending. See full story on stimulus plan.
Germany sells gold?
On the supply side, Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, said Wednesday it isn't selling gold. Bundesbank spokeswoman Madleen Petschmann said market rumors that the Bundesbank had increased its activity in the gold market were unfounded.
Earlier Wednesday, rumors circulated in the markets that the Bundesbank was selling gold, possibly to help fund a second fiscal stimulus worth about 50 billion euros.
The ruling Christian Democratic Union party's budget spokesman Steffen Kampeter has proposed that the Bundesbank should sell some of its gold reserves, which amount to about 3,400 tons, to help reduce debt.
Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck rejected the proposal in Wednesday's Berliner Zeitung newspaper, saying those politicians who proposed gold sales in the past met resistance at the Bundesbank.
Germany this year is set to see its largest post-war deficit, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday.
Other metals
In other metals trading Wednesday, March copper rose 0.8% to end at $1.496 a pound, while March silver fell 1.7% to $11.963 an ounce. March palladium was flat at $191 an ounce, while April platinum gained 0.5% to $962.90 an ounce.
In spot trading, the London afternoon gold-fixing price -- a benchmark for gold traded directly between big institutions -- stood at $895.25 an ounce Wednesday, down $2.25 from the previous day.
Holdings in the SPDR Gold Trust, the largest exchange-traded gold fund, stood at 832.88 tons, unchanged from a day ago, according to the latest data from the ETF.
The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD:spdr gold trust gold shs
GLD 87.42, -0.96, -1.1%) fell 1.3% to $87.25.
The Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI:amex gold bugs index equal-$ weight HUI 288.55, -7.15, -2.4%) , which tracks the share prices of major gold companies, slid 2.2% to 289.18.
The iShares Gold Trust ETF (IAU:iShares COMEX Gold Trust
IAU 87.37, -1.00, -1.1%) lost 1.2% to $87.30, while the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV:ishares silver trust ishares
SLV 11.86, +0.01, +0.1%) was nearly flat at to $11.86.
The Market Vectors-Gold Miners ETF (GDX:market vectors etf tr gold miner etf
GDX 32.73, -0.74, -2.2%) slid 2% to $32.81.
Moming Zhou is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York.
OPEC will weigh further production cuts
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
Last update: 5:17 a.m. EST Jan. 29, 2009Comments: 20DAVOS, Switzerland (MarketWatch) -- OPEC is ready to make further cuts in oil production in coming months if prices and global demand don't stabilize, the oil cartel's secretary general said at the World Economic Forum annual meeting on Thursday.
It will be clear in coming weeks whether cuts totalling 4.2 million barrels a day instituted in recent months are being met by OPEC members, said Abdalla Salem El Badri, in a panel discussion on the energy outlook for the year ahead.
Preliminary indications are that compliance will be near 100%, he said.
Next, oil producing nations must see how the market reacts to the previous cuts, El Badri said. OPEC "will not hesitate to take (some more) out of the market" if needed, he said.
The next meeting of oil-producing nations is March15.
At last year's meeting of corporate elite, top politicians, regulators, economists and others in Davos, oil prices were still on the rise. At the time, some prognosticators warned oil could hit $200 a barrel by the end of the year, despite signs the world economy was beginning to slow.
After peaking above $140 in July, oil prices plunged in subsequent months, hitting a low below $40 a barrel. Oil futures were trading around $41.81 in recent electronic trade.
El Badri said it was unclear whether oil prices have bottomed, but warned that a price of $40 "or even $50" a barrel doesn't provide producing countries with enough revenues to ensure adequate investment.
The price decline has been driven solely by a massive round of "demand destruction" as the world economy slowed, El Badri said, and the outlook for demand remains unclear.
"We are seeing that 2009 will be a very difficult year," he said. Meanwhile, governments around the world are implementing a range of bailouts and stimulus packages that may provide support for oil and other commodity prices, El Badri said.
Noting cuts in global economic growth projections, BP (UK:BP: news , chart , profile ) Chief Executive Tony Hayward, who was also on the panel, said demand could continue to decline "because economic growth in most of the world has stopped."
But when demand returns, it will snap back very fast and could cause suppliers to run into supply constraints "unless we can invest through the downturn," Hayward said.
Hayward estimated that an oil price of between $60 to $80 a barrel was needed to ensure adequate investment to meet growing oil demand by OPEC countries and also to meet costs of producing the marginal 3 million to 5 million barrels a day of world supply from sources such as ultra-deep wells and the oil sands of Canada.
That price range appears to support adequate investment without crimping consumer demand, he said.
William L. Watts is a reporter for MarketWatch in London
morning street trader!
U.S. futures point to higher open, driven by banks
By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:15 a.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009Comments: 433LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a strong start for Wall Street on Wednesday led by financials after a report the Obama administration is nearing a deal to buy illiquid or bad assets from banking firms, while markets were also focused on a Federal Reserve meeting.
Financial stocks were up across Europe as well as a result.
S&P 500 futures (SPY:SPDR S&P 500 ETF
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4:00pm 01/28/2009
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SPY 87.39, +2.86, +3.4%) rose 22 points to 861.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures (QQQQ:PowerShares QQQ
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4:00pm 01/28/2009
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QQQQ 30.35, +1.03, +3.5%) added 28.25 points to 1,214.00. Dow industrial futures (DIA:Dow Diamonds ETF
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4:00pm 01/28/2009
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DIA 83.68, +2.17, +2.7%) added 149 points.
U.S. markets closed higher on Tuesday, wading through a heavy schedule of earnings results and taking cheer from a surprisingly positive report on the housing market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 58.7 points, the S&P 500 rose 9.14 points and the Nasdaq Composite added 15.44 points.
But banks took the stage late in the day. After the close of trade, CNBC reported that Obama was nearing a "bad bank" plan and Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. may manage the plan. Some estimates are that the government could take on $1 trillion of bad assets.
Traders sold the dollar and the yen on reports of the plan, and also left the safe haven of gold, where futures tumbled $13 to $886.50 an ounce.
Citigroup (C:Citigroup, Inc
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Last: 4.21+0.66+18.59%
4:01pm 01/28/2009
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C 4.21, +0.66, +18.6%) surged 21% in pre-open deals and Bank of America (BAC:bank of america corporation com
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Last: 7.39+0.89+13.69%
4:02pm 01/28/2009
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BAC 7.39, +0.89, +13.7%) rose 19%.
Wells Fargo (WFC:Wells Fargo & Company
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Last: 21.19+5.00+30.88%
4:02pm 01/28/2009
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WFC 21.19, +5.00, +30.9%) , which reported a $2.55 billion quarterly loss and said Wachovia's quarterly loss was over $11 billion, rose over 15% in pre-market trade. Wells Fargo is maintaining a 34 cents a share dividend.
Barclays (BCS:Barclays PLC
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Last: 6.42+1.21+23.22%
4:00pm 01/28/2009
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BCS 6.42, +1.21, +23.2%) was one of several European lenders to advance, with the U.K. bank rallying 21% in pre-market trade. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 advanced 2.1%.
Asia shares were trading higher with indexes in South Korea and Singapore posting catch-up gains after a long holiday break.
Another focus for U.S. markets Wednesday will be the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, with a statement due at 2:15 p.m. Eastern. Some economists are calling for the Fed to push the Federal funds rate -- already effectively at zero - deeper into negative territory. They want the Fed to demonstrate it's pulling out all the stops on the economy.
"The Fed's job is going to be to convince markets and the broader public that they can still support the economy ... even with the funds rate at zero," said Al Broaddus, the former president of the Richmond Fed, in a television interview.
Elsewhere, General Electric (GE:General Electric Company
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Last: 13.50+0.44+3.37%
4:01pm 01/28/2009
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GE 13.50, +0.44, +3.4%) was flat as Moody's Investors Service moved a step closer to downgrading its Triple-A credit rating, which is vital for the group's financial arm.
Of high-profile earnings, Boeing (BA:Boeing Co.
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Last: 43.24+0.02+0.05%
4:00pm 01/28/2009
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BA 43.24, +0.02, +0.1%) swung to a $56 million loss after a strike, while AT&T's (T:AT&T Inc
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Last: 25.91-0.02-0.08%
4:05pm 01/28/2009
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T 25.91, -0.02, -0.1%) profit dropped 23% to edge just under analyst estimates.
Legg Mason (LM:Legg Mason, Inc
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Last: 18.02-1.42-7.30%
4:02pm 01/28/2009
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LM 18.02, -1.42, -7.3%) shares dropped 20% after reporting a $1.4 billion loss.
At 10:30 a.m. Eastern, weekly energy inventories will be released. Crude-oil futures slipped 20 cents a barrel.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Steve Goldstein contributed to this article.
morning breakout! rise and shine!
morning loungers!